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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23433121">stop stealing my art</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account'>orphan_account</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>SEVENTEEN (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>JunHao - Freeform, M/M, University AU, artist!minghao, writer!junhui</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 11:02:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,219</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23433121</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"who the fuck does he think he is stealing my art like that?"</p><p>au where minghao is a lowkey artist online and a certain boy named junhui keeps reposting his art without credit. he considers it stealing, as junhui was famous in his own way online, getting more retweets and likes than minghao did. one day, while hanging out in his favorite coffee shop, he finally sees the guy who kept on reposting his art.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Wen Jun Hui | Jun/Xu Ming Hao | The8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>90</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>stop stealing my art</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"that doesn't look quite right." minghao mutters to himself as he erases rather roughly at his sketchbook. it was a fine day. he had no classes and his usual routine for days like these were to hang out at his favorite coffee shop right by his university and do his projects. for today, he had a real-life sketch assignment. he glanced another time at the man across his table, who was a perfect subject as he was sitting quite still while browsing on his phone.</p><p> </p><p>he was sketching away until he felt like taking a well-deserved break, his hand growing tired after drawing and re-drawing this stranger in front of him. he takes a sip of his iced coffee, appreciating the kick of caffeine that fuels his energy to draw. after taking a few sips of coffee and a few relaxed breaths, he finally lets himself check on his phone that had been buzzing constantly on the table with notifications on his latest post.</p><p> </p><p>in person, he is xu minghao, but online, he is the8art. he didn't have a lot of followers so when people acknowledge his work, it fills him with happiness. he browses through the comments and replies to each one, all with "thank you!!" and random heart emojis, answering questions whenever one pops up.</p><p> </p><p>then, he sees the likes. it was routine for him to scroll down until he sees who he's looking for.</p><p> </p><p>wen junhui. that asshole.</p><p> </p><p>minghao then goes to his profile, somehow hopeful that he won't see what he's expecting but, as it usually goes, there it was. his art. reposted without credit. along with a caption that looks like it had been stolen from a poetry book.</p><p> </p><p>minghao frowned at the art thief's profile photo. it had been changed from the last time he made a visit to his account, which was the day minghao posted his previous artwork (that this boy reposted as well). how does this cute boy sleep at night? it pains minghao that the boy was terribly attractive. such a waste.</p><p> </p><p>"art enthusiast, my ass." he mumbles, reading his bio. he glared at the amount of followers junhui had. it was ten times more than minghao's, which meant that ten times more people see his art without them knowing that he made it.</p><p> </p><p>the art thief did seem like an art enthusiast, though. he posts a lot of artwork, none of them his own, and writes captions for each of them. it could have been that content that brought him a lot of followers, but no. he bitterly tells himself that he gets a lot of attention online because of his goddamn face.</p><p> </p><p>minghao could have just confronted him about it, exposed this boy for stealing his art, but he didn't. he didn't want to look like a disgrace to the art community so he doesn't admit that a part of him likes that he reposts his art.</p><p> </p><p>minghao was lying to himself when he said that this boy probably stole some other writer's work, because he looked up the captions he used for his posts and it all just led back to him. he actually liked his writing, making it a love-hate situation when he reposts his art. there was just something about expressing yourself through painting about things you can't explain then having someone make sense out of it for you. that was junhui's part.</p><p> </p><p>minghao's work were all abstract and junhui always had something to say about all of them, his words always hitting the nail right on the head. and it was truly a love-hate relationship, because after a while, those words go from profound to pure mocking.</p><p> </p><p>getting tired of stressing about this thief, he decided to return to his work, turning off his phone and taking another sip of coffee before starting. he looks back up to his subject only to realize he wasn't there anymore. replaced by another random stranger– actually, he wasn't random at all.</p><p> </p><p>wen junhui.</p><p> </p><p>minghao almost chokes on his coffee when he saw the boy right across from him, sipping coffee while simultaneously tapping away on his laptop. he didn't know what to do. obviously, he had to start over again now that he didn't have his subject anymore. there was no way he would draw junhui for his assignment, no matter how much better he turned out to look in person. minghao gripped harder on his cup at that thought.</p><p> </p><p>without thinking, he stood up from his seat, leaving his things behind. he walked towards the boy and took a seat in his booth.</p><p> </p><p>"uh, how can i help you?" junhui said, his attention steered away from his laptop.</p><p> </p><p>he didn't know what minghao looked like. as the8art, he never posted pictures of himself. all he posted were his works. minghao smirked at this and took out his phone. he opened up his latest artwork and held it up to junhui.</p><p> </p><p>"looks good, right?" minghao said in a sarcastic tone.</p><p> </p><p>junhui just sat there, confused. he didn't know what to think. why was this stranger sitting with him and showing him an artwork by his favorite artist?</p><p> </p><p>"it does." junhui said, playing along as he was still confused.</p><p> </p><p>"yeah, i wonder who made it." minghao says, taking a look at the artwork for himself. he glances at the boy in front of him, still looking dumbfounded. it was getting annoying and he wished he got the message sooner.</p><p> </p><p>"oh, it's by an artist called the8-" junhui cut himself off after noticing the table behind minghao.</p><p> </p><p>he was an active follower. he was always updated on his tweets, even the lowkey ones that were just about his day to day life. he remembered the day minghao posted about going to the art supply store to buy a new sketchbook. he had purchased a thick black book which had been covered by acrylic paint later on. the very same sketchbook sat on the table this stranger had come from.</p><p> </p><p>"the8art?" junhui asked, eyes wide at the other. what the hell. his favorite artist was in front of him right now.</p><p> </p><p>"yeah?" minghao, said. finally. he put his phone down on the table and crossed his arms, looking straight at junhui's dumbfounded expression. now this was a face he would like to draw. along with the words "art thief" in big bold letters.</p><p> </p><p>"are you really? what the fuck, i love your art!" junhui said, finally smiling. he didn't know what the artist looked like and he was pleasantly surprised. he didn't know that an artist could also look like a piece of art.</p><p> </p><p>"yeah, i am. and if you love my art that much, consider crediting me next time. okay?" minghao said, finally letting out the words he used to type and erase every single time. with all of that said, he got up from his seat again to collect his things from his table, wanting to get the hell out of there. he hated that he wanted to stare at junhui's stupidly attractive face and make him the model for his assignment.</p><p> </p><p>slinging his backpack in his arm, he made a beeline for the door but he was followed by junhui.</p><p> </p><p>"wait!" junhui said, trying not to get the glass door slammed on his face. minghao just looked at him as he swiftly slid past the door and grabbed minghao's arm.</p><p> </p><p>"i'm waiting." minghao said, dead eyes looking at junhui's apologetic ones.</p><p> </p><p>"i'm really sorry." junhui said, looking down.</p><p> </p><p>"it's actually really easy to credit someone, you know?" minghao said. "if you have the energy to write those captions then why can't you add– i dont know, "credits to @the8art'?"</p><p> </p><p>"you've read my writing?" junhui asks, his cheeks flushed with a shade of pink from the embarrassment. minghao just nodded.</p><p> </p><p>"oh god, i-"</p><p> </p><p>"look, just tell me why you're more concerned about your writing rather than the fact that you've just been caught red-handed."</p><p> </p><p>"i-it's just..." junhui trailed off. "i didn't want you to see it."</p><p> </p><p>"'cause it's not a crime if you're not caught?" minghao says, crossing his arms again. he couldn't ask for a better confrontation. instead of the confident asshole minghao conjured him up to be in his head, there he was, blushing and embarrassed.</p><p> </p><p>"it's not that." junhui said. "god, this is embarrassing. it's just that you're my favorite artist. your artwork really inspires me but i don't want you to think i'm some pretentious ass writer."</p><p> </p><p>"i don't think you're pretentious. i just think you're an ass." minghao says, feeling more impatient by the minute. he didn't really want his apology. he just wanted credit, for god's sake.</p><p> </p><p>"come on." minghao said, walking back inside the coffeeshop with junhui trailing behind him. he sat in the same booth junhui was in earlier and took out his sketchbook.</p><p> </p><p>"so here's what we're gonna do. you're going to get on your laptop and you're going to post credit for each artwork of mine that you used for your writing." minghao said in a stern voice. it seems like he was holding junhui at gunpoint.</p><p> </p><p>"and you are?" junhui asked, looking at the beautiful sketchbook minghao had set on the table.</p><p> </p><p>"i'm going to draw you for my stupid assignment because the guy i was drawing who was here before you fucking left." minghao tried to erase any hints on his face that said 'i really just want to draw your beautiful face'</p><p> </p><p>junhui nodded with a smile creeping up on his lips. he felt giddy at the thought of his favorite artist drawing him.</p><p> </p><p>after an hour of trying to sit still and trying to make small talk, junhui was almost done with his part of the deal. he had replied to all of his tweets with "artwork credits to @the8art 🎨", some even dating back to last year.</p><p> </p><p>"the8-" junhui was cut off by minghao.</p><p> </p><p>"call me minghao." he said with a quick small smile, looking up from his sketchbook. he had calmed down a bit now, anger residing as he drew.</p><p> </p><p>"minghao," junhui said, loving the way his name rolled of his tongue. "i'm done."</p><p> </p><p>"me, too." minghao said, taking one last look at the portrait. he was proud of it, catching every detail in junhui's face.</p><p> </p><p>"can i see it?" junhui asked, trying to peek at the sketchbook.</p><p> </p><p>minghao thought of denying him the chance to see his art but then he remembered that he was this person's favorite artist. he always wanted someone to call him that. he handed over the sketchbook, suddenly shy. minghao was used to just posting online, never really showing his art to people unless it was a thing for class. technically, the portrait of junhui was supposed to be for an assignment but he changed his mind about it. he's going to keep this one for himself.</p><p> </p><p>"this is amazing." junhui said, staring at the page. "can i take a picture of it?"</p><p> </p><p>"no." minghao denies him this time. he really did just want to keep this one for himself. junhui didn't dare to complain, though. he thought that maybe minghao was just being cautious about sharing his art to junhui, the art thief.</p><p> </p><p>"anyway, i have to get going now." minghao said after getting his sketchbook back. he wanted to stay but he didn't have any more reason to. junhui was saddened by this, wanting to spend more time with minghao. he didn't ask him to stay, though, thinking that the artist hated him and wouldn't want to be with him.</p><p> </p><p>"good bye, then." junhui said, looking up at minghao who had already gotten up from his seat.</p><p> </p><p>minghao just waved good bye, slinging his backpack onto his shoulder. he walked out without junhui running up to him this time. he glanced back only to see the boy looking alone in the coffeeshop booth.</p>
<p></p><div><p> </p><p> </p>
<p></p><div>
<p></p><div><p>----------</p></div></div></div><p> </p><p> </p><p>"you have 48 notifications"</p><p> </p><p>minghao just got back to his dorm room after running a few more errands, kicking off his shoes and taking off his coat. he was surprised at the notification because he never really got that many in just a couple of hours. there was only one explanation.</p><p> </p><p>he let himself fall on his bed, still holding up his phone to go through his notifications. junhui really did tag him in all of the posts that he used minghao's artworks with.</p><p> </p><p>now that he was credited, he received a lot of compliments. more people acknowledged his art, some even calling out junhui for using his art for so long. he just laughed at it, his annoyance with the art thief now forgotten.</p><p> </p><p>he clicked on the boy's profile for the second time today, looking at the flood of tweets that he was tagged in. when he scrolled back to the top, he saw a new tweet.</p><p> </p><p>@moonjun</p><p>"i'm very sorry for copping such a lovely artist's artwork. it will never happen again."</p><p> </p><p>minghao felt relieved by this, glad that he won't have to hate this boy now. he would miss the posts and his writing, though. unless...</p><p> </p><p>@the8art:</p><p>"@moonjun it's not gonna be stealing anymore because i give you my permission :)"</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>@moonjun:</p><p>"@the8art if i forgot to credit, maybe you'll confront me again, same time and place this saturday?"</p><p> </p><p>@the8art:</p><p>"@moonjun blocked and reported."</p><p> </p><p>@the8art:</p><p>"@moonjun see you ;)"</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>lmao this is the first fic i published and ngl it's not that good but everyone has to start somewhere, right ??? also im just a sucker for artist!minghao</p></blockquote></div></div>
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